


In Plain Sight

by orphan_account



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-14
Updated: 2016-02-14
Packaged: 2018-05-17 01:50:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 21,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5849260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Regina discovers Henry's plan to go find his birth mother, she decides to go with him in an attempt to show him she cares. The trip doesn't go as planned, though, and they end up meeting someone very special on the way home. Enter Emma Swan. Regina is shocked when she finds herself drawn to Emma, but what will she do when the woman she thought she knew turns out to be the one person they had been searching for all along?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [cashmerecandycane](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cashmerecandycane/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Road Trip](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5363393) by [cashmerecandycane](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cashmerecandycane/pseuds/cashmerecandycane). 



> This is an AU where there is no curse and Emma lives in Tallahassee rather than Boston. 
> 
> I would like to thank btvsobsessed623 for cheering me on and being a great beta!
> 
> Also, thanks to cashmerecandycane for providing the artwork that inspired this fic!

Regina stood outside Henry’s door, attempting to force herself to knock. She was not prepared for the conversation she was about to have with her ten year old son, but she knew it had to be done. After all the distance he had put between the two of them lately, she was ready to do whatever it took to get him to realize that she truly loved him. She didn’t think she could bear to hear him call her evil one more time. It upset her to think that she had done something to make him believe that to be true, and she swore that she would try to do better. After she dealt with this most recent outburst of his, of course.

She finally gathered up the courage to knock, and Henry cracked open his door and poked his head out. “What’s up?” He asked, attempting to be nonchalant so he wouldn’t give away his plan. His bag was packed, his ticket purchased, now all he had to do was wait for his mom to go to work so he could catch the bus and finally get away from Storybrooke.

“Henry, I’d like to drive you to school today. My meeting was pushed back, and we haven’t gotten to spend as much time together lately as I would have liked. I’m sorry I’ve been so busy, but I’m going to try to change that, okay?” She knew that the main reason Henry had been acting out was that he thought she spent too much time at work and not with him. He often felt like being mayor was Regina’s top priority and he was only given whatever spare time she had left. 

Henry gave her a look of disbelief and said, “No, it’s okay, I promised Nick I would meet him at the bus stop. He wanted to talk about our math homework from last night. Said he needs my help.”

Regina had never once heard Henry mention anyone named Nick. She knew he was just lying so he could get away from her. She had planned to distract him so he would miss his bus, but she knew her son was too sneaky for that. Henry would find a way, he always did. 

“Henry, please don’t lie to me. I know that you’re trying to take a bus to Florida to find your birth mother.” Henry’s jaw dropped at Regina’s words. Before he could ask any questions, Regina explained, “Miss Blanchard gave me a call this morning, Henry. She said she noticed her credit card was missing and when she called her bank to report it, they told her that there had been a charge on her card from a website titled ‘Who’s Your Momma.’ Do you know anyone else in your class who might have had a reason to want to find out who their birth mother is?”

Regina laughed to herself, remembering how terrified Mary Margaret had sounded on the phone. Accusing the mayor’s son of theft had to be nerve wracking, and if anything Regina had found joy in making the younger woman uncomfortable. She had never liked the teacher; always thought she talked way too much about birds. She often worried that Henry wasn’t getting a proper education. She cherished any opportunity she had to make the unbearable woman even more afraid of her.

“Do you know how dangerous this would be? Henry, you are ten years old! You can’t possibly imagine that traveling all the way to Tallahassee on your own is a good idea! I love you, and if anything happened to you, I-I don’t know what I would do. I can’t lose you, Henry.”

Henry could do nothing but stare, his mouth still wide open. He had been hoping that his teacher wouldn’t notice that he had borrowed her credit card. He had planned on being gone before she figured it out and he really was going to try to pay her back eventually. 

Henry turned away from her then and went to pull something out of his backpack. He hesitantly walked back over to Regina and held out a piece of paper for her to see. “If you really love me, then I want you to help me.” Regina opened the paper to see the contact information of a woman named Emma Swan.  _ Henry’s birth mother,  _ she thought with a frown.

“You really want to meet her?” Regina asked, voice wavering. 

“Yes. I-I just want to know what she’s like. I’ve thought about her so many times and I just want to see who she really is. Can’t you understand that?”

But she couldn’t. She couldn’t understand why he would want to go to all this trouble to find the woman who gave him up. She couldn’t understand how she had pushed him so far away that he thought he had to do this. But she could see that it was important to him and he wouldn’t be backing down anytime soon.

“Henry, I just don’t think-”

“I don’t care what you think! I want to do this and if you won’t let me then I’m just going to find another way. I’ll never stop trying to find my real mom!”

Regina bent down so she could look at Henry and held his face in her hands. “Henry, I’m so sorry if I’ve done anything to make you think I don’t love you. You are the greatest thing that has ever happened to me and I love you so much, I really do. I-I’m sorry if I’m not very good at showing it sometimes, but please, Henry. Please trust me.” Regina pleaded with Henry.

“You really love me?” He asked in a quiet voice.

Regina smiled at him with tears in her eyes. “More than anything.”

“Then please help me. Just let me meet her, please.”

Regina thought she should just ground him then and there, but she knew he was a crafty kid and he would find a way to meet Miss Swan. He wouldn’t stop trying, and she wouldn’t ever forgive herself if something happened to him because of it. Besides, she’d always wanted to visit Florida. It would make a nice change from the cold Maine weather. “Alright, Henry, if it’s what you really want then I will take you to Florida to find this woman,” She said reluctantly.

Henry’s eyes lit up and he smiled bigger than Regina had seen in months. “Do you mean it? Are we really going to go find her?”

“Yes, Henry. I mean it. I want you to be happy and if this is what it takes, then I will certainly give it a try.”

Henry smiled again and wrapped his arms around Regina. She couldn’t remember the last time he had hugged her like that, and she let a few silent tears fall as she held her little boy close. This was just a start, and she had certainly not fixed everything, but she was getting one step closer to getting Henry back. She just hoped that this Emma Swan wouldn’t mess everything up again.

Henry pulled away from her embrace and sat down at his computer. “So, mom, I bet we can still get you a bus ticket! It leaves pretty soon, but it’s probably not full.”

Regina laughed and said, “Oh, Henry, we are certainly not taking the bus all the way to Florida. I can’t even believe that there’s a bus that goes that far!”

Henry scowled, upset that his mother was already finding problems with his plan. “Hey, I did a lot of research and that ticket wasn’t cheap.”

“Well, we’ll just have to find a way to pay back Miss Blanchard won’t we? Maybe you can help her out after school on occasion.”

Henry frowned, clearly not pleased with the thought. Regina chuckled, knowing that she couldn’t possibly think of anything worse than having to spend more time with Miss Blanchard. The woman was insufferable, with all her cheeriness and talk of birds. Why was she so obsessed with birds anyway?

“Let’s not worry about that now, alright? We’ll deal with your punishment when we get home.” 

Henry groaned, knowing that he was going to be in huge trouble this time. His mom was not one to take things lightly, and even though she had never seemed to like his teacher, he knew that she was mad about this. 

“So, if we aren’t taking the bus, how are we getting there?” He asked, hoping to change the topic.

“We’ll fly, of course.” Regina answered, much to Henry’s delight. Neither of them had ever flown anywhere before, and Regina would never admit it to anyone but the idea made her a bit nervous. “I’ll have to change my schedule around at work but I think I can manage to take a few days off for this trip. Now, what do you say we get you to school? I don’t want you to be late.”

Regina smiled as she walked out the door with her arm wrapped around Henry’s shoulder. It had been so long since she had had a nice moment with her son, and she was thrilled at the idea of their relationship going back to the way it was. Regina had given up hope that she would find true love a long time ago, and since then all she had ever wanted; all she had ever needed, really, was the love that only her son could give.

 


	2. Chapter 2

Regina had only been able to take two days off of work, not even allowing them one full day to spend in Tallahassee. Not that they needed much time, anyways. It wasn’t like they were there to sightsee. She and Henry had enjoyed each other’s company on the flight there, and it made her happy to spend so much time hearing about Henry’s life. It had been so long since they had just talked, and she knew that no matter what, or rather, who, they found in Tallahassee, this trip was worth it just for the extra time with her son.

The morning after they arrived in the city, Henry was up bright and early, ready to go meet the woman he had dreamt of for years. He couldn’t help but wonder what his birth mother was like. He had imagined her to be a doctor, or maybe a police officer, even. Someone who had a very important job and had to give him up because they were too busy saving the world to spend quality time with their kid. 

Regina, on the other hand, had tried her hardest to forget that there was a woman out there who had given Henry up. She couldn’t imagine that anyone in their right mind could do such a thing, and she assumed Emma Swan to be a drug addict, or maybe a criminal. Frankly, she had been surprised to see that the woman’s address wasn’t a prison. 

Henry and Regina had taken a cab to the address listed on the paper Henry had received. They got out of the car and stood in front of the apartment building that was much nicer than Regina had been expecting. Neither of them moved, though. They simply stood there together, mentally preparing themselves to meet the woman who had the capability of changing both of their lives forever. 

Regina took a deep breath and reminded herself not to cry. Henry noticed that she was struggling with this, though, and took her hand in his. “Mom, you...you don’t have to come in, if you don’t want to. I know this must be hard for you.”

Regina held onto his hand tighter and replied, “Henry Mills, if you think I am going to allow you to walk into a stranger’s apartment on your own, then you are sorely mistaken. Now, let’s get this over with.”

Henry followed Regina as the two headed into the apartment building. They took the stairs up to the second floor and stopped in front of the door marked 205. Regina stepped back, allowing Henry to make the decision to knock. He lifted his hand, but paused right in front of the door. He glanced back to Regina for reassurance, and when she gave a slight nod, he turned back around and knocked three times before he could chicken out again. 

They waited, and waited, and waited for what felt like hours until Henry looked back at Regina once more. “Try again, Henry, louder this time. Maybe she just didn’t hear you.” 

Just as Henry was about to knock once more, an older woman walked out of the door right next to Emma’s. 

“Excuse, me, ma'am, do you know the woman who lives in this apartment?” Regina asked.

“Oh, Emma? Well, of course. She used to help me carry my groceries upstairs. She was such a lovely young woman,” She responded.

“Was?” 

“Yes, I was so sad to hear that she was leaving.”

Henry looked defeated when he heard that. “What do you mean, leaving?” He asked.

“Well, early this morning when I was coming back from my walk, Emma was outside loading some boxes into her car. She told me she was moving! I was so sad to see her go. She really was a sweetheart, that one.” The woman said.

Henry hung his head, asking “So that’s it? She’s just...gone? We missed her?”

“Did she say anything to you about where she might have gone?” Regina asked, wanting to prove to Henry that she would do anything to help him. “Does she have any family she might have gone to live with? A boyfriend maybe?”

The woman laughed at that before replying, “Emma? No, no boyfriends for her. I did see a nice young lady sneaking out of her apartment early one morning though.” Regina winced, hoping Henry didn’t catch that comment about his birth mother’s apparent one night stands. “Emma didn’t have many friends, not that I know of. She’s always kept to herself and I hardly remember seeing anyone going into her apartment but her. You know, I’m not even sure I know her last name, come to think of it. She wasn’t much for small talk.”

Regina sighed. How on earth were they supposed to find a woman who was a complete loner? They had no leads, and Regina was no detective. She didn’t think she would be very successful if she attempted to look for the woman herself. 

“Thank you for your help.” She said to the older woman. “Sorry to take up your time. Have a nice day.”

Regina grabbed Henry’s hand and pulled him along. Once they were outside, he yanked his hand from her grasp. Regina could see that he was crying, but when she reached out to wipe away his tears, he leaned away from her. 

“What did you do?!” He yelled, clearly very angry at Regina. “You got her to leave, didn’t you? Did you pay her or something? Why would you do this? I trusted you, I thought you were finally doing something good, but it was all just a show, wasn’t it!” 

Regina stepped back, appalled. “Henry, what on earth are you talking about?”

“You made her leave so I would never find her, didn’t you? You’re too afraid of me finding my real mom! I just wanted to meet her. Why did you do this? You said you loved me but you were just pretending, like you always have!” Henry was sobbing now, and Regina didn’t know how she was going to calm him down. People passing by were giving them strange looks, so Regina pulled Henry into the alleyway. 

“Henry, listen to me! I did not send Miss Swan away. I wanted you to meet her because I knew it would make you happy. That’s all I want, Henry, is for you to be happy. You have to believe me! I did not plan for any of this to happen.”

“So it’s just a coincidence that she packs up everything and leaves on the day we get here? I guess I should have expected this to happen. You don’t care about me, all you care about is yourself!”

It took everything Regina had to not start crying. She thought she had come so far, she thought Henry was starting to see how much she loved him. But he had it in his mind that she was evil, and it was clearly going to take more than just a trip to Florida to fix that. 

“Henry, you can blame me all you want but I promise you, this is not my fault. We will hire a private investigator if that’s what it takes to find this woman. I’m so sorry that we didn’t find her today but if it will make you happy then I will not stop trying until we do. I’m doing this for you, Henry. I came here for you.”

Henry sniffed a few times but didn’t say anything in response. Regina could tell he wanted to believe her, but he was still upset. He wasn’t going to forgive her until she actually held true to her word. Regina sighed and held out her hand. Reluctantly, Henry took it, and they slowly walked away from the apartment building. They had a few hours left before they needed to catch their flight, and Regina wanted to make sure that the trip wasn’t a total waste. She told Henry all about the things they could do with their remaining time, trying her best to calm him down without making him even more upset with her. 

 


	3. Chapter 3

Regina and Henry sat together in front of their gate at the airport, waiting to board their flight back to Maine. Henry hadn’t talked much since they had left the apartment; not even when they walked past a Cinnabon stand on the way to their gate. Regina knew that Henry had a sweet tooth, even though she rarely let him have dessert. Even though Regina knew it wasn’t her fault Miss Swan had moved, she couldn’t help but feel a little guilty. She ended up buying Henry a cinnamon roll, and it made her happy to see him smile despite his attempts at hiding it.

Regina had decided to stop talking about the situation with Miss Swan. She knew that she could tell Henry a million times that it wasn’t her fault they had missed Emma, but it wouldn’t change anything. He needed proof, and she didn’t blame him. Whenever Henry had asked about his birth parents, she had simply brushed him off and changed the topic. He knew that she was not fond of the idea of him meeting the people who gave him up, and she supposed that getting rid of Miss Swan seemed exactly like something the evil queen would do. Henry often compared her to the Disney villain, so she wasn’t surprised when he came up with the theory.

When the time finally came for them to board, they were some of the last people to get on the plane. Due to the last minute purchase of their tickets, they were stuck near the back. When they reached their seats, Regina was alarmed to find a woman sitting right in the middle of the row. She opened her mouth to say something, but as soon as the woman turned and looked at her, Regina found herself speechless. The gorgeous blonde was looking right at her with beautiful green eyes, and Regina couldn’t help but stare. 

“Mom, come on. Sit down.” Henry said, shoving Regina aside and moving to sit by the window.

Regina cleared her throat and shook her head before saying, “Excuse me, I believe that’s my seat,”

The blonde smiled at her and said, “Actually, I’m pretty sure it’s mine.” She showed Regina her ticket and Regina realized that she had, in fact, gotten her number wrong. She just assumed she would have been seated next to her son.

“Well, I don’t want to split you guys up.” The woman said. “I don’t mind trading, if you-”

“No, that’s okay.” Henry interrupted. “I want to sit by the window. And my mom likes the aisle better anyways. We’ll be fine, really.”

The woman raised her eyebrows and smiled at Regina, clearly trying not to laugh. Regina could do nothing but shake her head and take her seat. She realized that Henry was just trying to prove that he was still mad, and she would deal with him when they got home. 

“We may have gotten into a bit of an argument on the way here,” Regina admitted to the woman who was still looking at her. “He’s probably glad to put as much distance between us right now as possible.”

The blonde laughed and Regina found herself wishing she could hear it again.

“Kids, right? They’re a handful.” The woman replied.

Regina chuckled and said, “They certainly are. Do you have any of your own?”

“Nah, kids aren’t really my thing. I move around a lot, but I grew up around a lot of other kids. I know how difficult they can get.” The woman replied.

“Big family?” Regina asked.

“You could say that,” the woman said, her smile fading. “I’m Emma, by the way,” she said, clearly hoping to change the topic.

Regina frowned internally when the woman said her name. The very name she was trying so hard to forget. But she knew that Miss Swan was probably long gone, and she wouldn’t let her distaste for that woman ruin the entire plane ride.

“I’m Regina. It’s very nice to meet you, Emma. And this is Henry,” Regina said, motioning to the boy who was staring out the window and eating his cinnamon roll, clearly trying to ignore the two women. 

“So, what brings the two of you to Tallahassee?” Emma asked.

“We were just here to...visit a friend.” Regina explained, not wanting to delve too far into her personal life with a woman she had just met. This earned her a pointed glare from Henry. “What about yourself?”

“I’ve actually lived here for a while. Thought it was time to move on, though. I have a brother living in this really small town in Maine, said he thought he could get me a job so I figured I’d give it a go. Tallahassee wasn’t exactly...all I expected it to be.”

“What  _ did  _ you expect it to be?” Regina asked, hoping she wasn’t pushing too far.

“I came here to...I don’t know, find happiness, I guess? It’s stupid, really. I just thought that coming here would help me escape my past, but I’ve realized it isn’t that easy.” 

“I know the feeling. I spent many years looking for happiness before I realized I was looking in all the wrong places.” Regina admitted.

“And where did you find it?” Emma asked.

Regina looked over at Henry who was still trying to pretend like he wasn’t listening. “I found it with Henry.” She said fondly. “I spent so much time thinking that I needed to find love in order to be happy, and I did find it, in the end, just not in the way I expected.”

“So, Henry’s dad isn’t really....around?” Emma asked, afraid that she had pushed too far and Regina wouldn’t be interested in continuing their conversation. She was relieved when Regina just laughed and said, “Henry is adopted, actually. I was never married. It’s just the two of us.”

Emma smiled again, which made Regina’s heart flutter. She didn’t know why, but Emma made her nervous and excited at the same time. She hadn’t felt that way about anyone in...well, she couldn’t even remember how long it had been. Most people in Storybrooke were afraid to even talk to her. She couldn’t recall the last time she had had a nice discussion with anyone other than Henry. Emma was charming, and Regina felt like she could talk to her all day if given the opportunity.

“You have a lovely smile, Emma,” Regina said before she could stop herself. She had never really been one for spontaneity. She had every moment of every day planned out on her calendar, and she liked to stick to her normal routines. She knew that was one of the main reasons Henry had felt like she had been so distant, and she swore she would try to change that, for his sake. So, before she could second guess herself, she took a risk and said the compliment aloud.

To her surprise, Emma simply smiled even wider and said, “Thanks Regina. You know, I bet this kid of yours has a really great smile too. Too bad I haven’t seen it yet. If he’s anything like his mom, he’ll be a stunner.” She winked at Regina before turning to Henry and saying, “You know, kid, if I had a cool mom like yours  _ and  _ a cinnamon roll, I would probably be smiling pretty big.”

To Regina’s surprise, Henry really did smile at that. “Yeah, I guess she is pretty cool.” He admitted. 

“I don’t know what you were talking about, Regina! The kid seems great to me!” Emma joked.

“I have a name, you know.” Henry said with a frown.

“Oh right, let me think. Regina Junior, right?” Emma asked.

That got a laugh out of Henry, and Emma and Regina joined right along. Regina caught Emma’s eye and mouthed a silent ‘thank you.’ She was blown away at Emma’s ability to make Henry happy in a matter of seconds. She had a lot to learn on this three hour flight. 

When the plane finally started to move, Regina remembered how terrified she was of flying. She had been grateful that Henry had held her hand for a majority of the flight there. She told him it was so he wouldn’t get scared, but they both knew it was for her more than him. Henry was in awe of the plane; he had never flown anywhere before. He had barely even left Storybrooke, and he was having the time of his life on the trip. Regina, on the other hand, would prefer never to leave the comfort of their tiny town again. She just hoped her nerves weren’t showing. She didn’t want to embarrass herself in front of Emma.

Apparently she was doing a bad job of hiding her anxiety, because Emma leaned over and whispered, “You okay? You look a little worried. Everything alright?”

“I’m fine, thank you.” Regina replied. 

“Not a frequent flyer?” Emma asked, clearly not buying Regina’s lie.

“Not really, no. But I am fine, I promise. Just a little tired is all.”

Regina relaxed a bit when Emma seemed to accept her answer and leaned back into her seat. 

Twenty minutes later, there was some turbulence that shook the whole plane. Regina suddenly tensed up, holding onto the armrest so hard her knuckles turned white. Emma couldn’t help but notice that Regina was clearly afraid, but knew she would never admit it. Slowly, she brought her hand up and set it on top of Regina’s in an attempt to calm her down.

Regina felt Emma’s hand close around hers, and her breath caught in her throat. She turned to look at Emma, who was smiling at her in the most adorable way. 

“You don’t seem like the kind of person who likes to admit when she needs help.” Emma said quietly. “But that doesn’t mean you don’t need it.” Regina could do nothing but stare, touched at Emma’s kind gesture, then slowly she started to smile. Emma was right; Regina hated asking for help. She hated looking weak. She always had people depending on her; whether it was at work as she was running the town or at home taking care of Henry, she always had to be the one to help everyone else. It felt nice to have someone else take care of her for once. 

Regina and Emma didn’t speak much more throughout the rest of the flight, but their hands stayed clasped together the entire time.


	4. Chapter 4

Regina was relieved when they finally got off the plane and Emma accompanied Regina and Henry to baggage claim. The three talked as if they were old friends while waiting for their luggage. Regina was amazed at how easy it was to talk to Emma and felt like she could spend hours with her and never get bored. She was even a little sad when they had finally received their bags, because it meant they would have to go their separate ways. 

“Damn, Regina, how long were you gone? This bag weighs a ton.” Emma commented as she pulled Regina’s bag off of the conveyor belt.

Regina blushed before admitting, “We, uh...We were only gone for one night.”

Emma’s eyes widened at that. “Damn, woman! How much could you possibly need for one single night?”

Regina scowled and said, “You never know what you’ll need to be prepared for. Besides, I don’t travel much. I wasn’t sure what I would need and it’s always better to be over prepared.” 

Emma put her hands up in surrender and said, “You’re right, sorry. I bet it’s especially hard with a kid who probably forgot to pack half of what he needs, huh?”

Henry scowled at Emma just as Regina smiled and said, “Well, where’s your bag? I’m sure it weighs a significant amount more than mine if you’re moving everything you have.”

“Oh, I don’t have a bag. I packed up everything in my car before I left and had my brother drive it up. I’m not a huge fan of long car rides but I couldn’t give up my baby.”

Regina raised her eyebrows. “Your  _ baby _ ?”

Emma smirked and said, “Oh, yeah. Trust me, if you could see my car you’d understand.”

Regina just shook her head with a chuckle and said, “Well, if you don’t have a bag, then why did you spend all this time waiting with us?”

Emma shrugged and replied, “I don’t know, I guess I just wasn’t ready to say goodbye quite yet.”

Regina smiled. She was constantly amazed at how smooth Emma was. It seemed that that flirting was effortless for her...if she was flirting, that is. Regina suddenly panicked, worried that she had been misreading the woman this entire time.  She had to admit that she was no expert in this field. She figured she had nothing to lose, though, considering she might not ever see Emma again. 

“Well, I’m certainly going to be sad to see you go, Emma. Though perhaps we will see each other again one day. We do live in the same state now, after all.”

Emma laughed, once again making Regina’s stomach flip. “Yeah, you never know. Maine isn’t that big, right? Even though I’m going to be stuck in the middle of nowhere. I don’t know why my idiot brother decided to move to a town called Storybrooke, but whatever. I guess it sounds kind of... charming.”

Regina froze. “Did you say...  _ Storybrooke _ ?”

Emma gave her a strange look and said, “Yeah...Something wrong with that?”

Regina blinked a few times, stunned, before finally saying, “No, no...It’s just that I’m... _ I’m... _ Storybrooke...that’s...how?”

Regina didn’t know what it was about Emma that made her feel like she couldn’t even form proper sentences, but hearing that she was moving to her town made her so excited she felt like she would never speak correctly again. 

Henry decided to step in and said, “Whoa, are you seriously moving to Storybrooke? That’s awesome!!”

Emma gave the two a funny look, confused as to why they seemed so excited. “Did I miss something? Is Storybrooke like, some epic place? It didn’t look that great when I Googled it…”

Regina could still do nothing but stare, internally celebrating despite the fact that she know she looked like an idiot just standing there. 

“I mean, Storybrooke’s okay, I guess.” Henry said. “But we live there, too! Which means we can hang out again!” 

Emma gasped. “What?! You guys are from Storybrooke? No way! That’s awesome!” She ruffled Henry’s hair and gave him a high five before turning to Regina.

“Guess we’ll be bumping into each other a lot then, huh?” She said with a wink.

Regina was still stunned, but she managed to get out, “Y-Yes, I suppose we will.”

Emma smiled at her again, and Regina went weak in the knees. She didn’t know why Emma made her so nervous. She was normally so composed and she had never been this intimidated by anyone. Years of being the mayor had made her extremely confident and very used to public speaking. But being the mayor hadn’t prepared her for talking to someone she was interested in. That was something Regina hadn’t practiced in years.  

“Hey, why don’t we all take a taxi back to Storybrooke together? It would probably be cheaper that way, right mom?” Henry asked.

Regina smiled at Henry and said, “Yes, Emma, we would love it if you would join us on the way home.”

“Wow, really? That would be great!” Emma said. “Guess this isn’t goodbye after all,” She said with a smile. “I was never very good at goodbyes anyway.”

 

* * *

 

After an hour of great conversation and getting to know each other better, the taxi finally pulled to a stop in front of Regina’s house. Henry wasted no time jumping out of the car and rushing into the house.

Emma gaped up at the mansion, clearly impressed. “You  _ live  _ here?” She asked with wide eyes.

“Yes, dear. Perks of being the mayor, I suppose.”

Emma’s eyes grew even wider. “You’re the  _ mayor? _ ”

“Oh, yes, had I not mentioned that before?”

Emma shook her head, still stunned.

“Well, Emma, as mayor of Storybrooke, I’d like to formally welcome you to town. We are very lucky to have you here.”

Emma smirked and, with a wink, said, “Why thank you, Madame Mayor. I’m very glad to be here.” 

Regina groaned internally. Emma had to stop winking or she would never be able to say goodbye.

_ But why should I have to? _ She asked herself.

“Emma, how would you like a glass of the best apple cider you’ve ever tasted?”

Emma smiled and said, “Well, that depends. Does it come with good company?”

“Only the best.” Regina replied, surprised at her confidence.

She paid the taxi driver and the two walked into the house. Emma was still admiring the place when Regina called out, “Henry, you better be doing your homework! If you’re going to miss school I expect you to make up all your work.”

Henry came trudging out of the living room with a frown, ready to argue, when he saw Emma standing there. “Is Emma staying for dinner?” He asked.

“Well, that depends. Do you like lasagna?” She asked the blonde.

“Oh man, thanks Regina, but I don’t want to intrude! You guys have already had to put up with me for a whole day. I’ll get out of your hair.”

“Nonsense! We’ve enjoyed your company. Besides, we don’t get many visitors. It’s a nice change to have someone else around.”

“Are you sure?” Emma asked, not wanting to overstay her welcome. “Really, I wouldn’t be upset or anything if you didn’t want me to stay.”

Regina frowned as she noticed Emma change from her former confident self into a shy woman who didn’t seem to think she was welcome. “Emma, you don’t have to stay if you don’t want to. I’m sure you must be tired after a day of travel. But please know that Henry and I have loved getting to know you today and we would be thrilled if you would join us for dinner.”

“Well, I can never say no to a good lasagna.” Emma said after a moment of hesitation. 

Henry cheered and ran up to his room to start his homework before dinner, leaving the two women standing alone in the living room.

Emma glanced at Regina with a sheepish smile, and Regina said, “Emma, is everything alright?”

“Yeah, yeah, of course. Thanks for having me, Regina, I really appreciate it. I would probably be at my apartment eating take out right now if it weren’t for you. I guess I’m just not used to people wanting me to stay.” Emma said before she realized that might have been too much information considering she had only just met Regina that day.

“Oh, trust me, I know how that feels. Being the mayor doesn’t exactly get you on everyone’s good side. Not to mention having a ten year old son who thinks you’re an evil queen.”

Emma laughed and said, “Wow, he’s really got an imagination, huh? He seems like a smart kid.”

“He’s wonderful. I’m very lucky to have him, despite his occasional outbursts.” Regina said with a chuckle. “Now, what do you say we get started on dinner?”

“Oh, uh, I really...I really can’t cook. Like, at all.” Emma said as she followed Regina into the kitchen.

“Well, maybe I can teach you a thing or two.” Regina said as she purposely swayed her hips a bit more than usual to try and get Emma’s attention.

Emma noticed, alright. She just hoped that she wouldn’t get too distracted and set anything on fire.

 


	5. Chapter 5

Emma had not been lying when she told Regina she couldn’t cook. She had been put in charge of cooking the noodles, but she let the water boil over when she was too busy staring at Regina to notice. After that incident, Regina had Emma stirring the sauce she had just made.

“Just keep stirring it until we’re ready to add it in with everything else.” Regina told Emma before handing her the wooden spoon. “Try not to get any on the cupboards,” She said with a wink before turning back around.

Emma frowned and began to stir the sauce. “I did warn you. I’m a terrible cook; always have been.”

“Well, it simply takes practice. I wasn’t just born knowing how to make a great lasagna. It took a lot of trial and error. If you just stick with it, I’m sure you’ll find yourself showing much improvement.” Regina responded as she reached past Emma to grab the salt shaker. “Why don’t you add a little salt and let me know how it tastes.”

Emma began to sprinkle some salt into the sauce, but was quickly distracted when Regina dropped a kitchen towel on the floor and bent over to pick it up. She was entranced by the incredible view of Regina’s cleavage right in front of her as she continued to shake the salt over the pot.

Once Regina had stood up and turned back around, Emma snapped out of it. She set the salt shaker down and picked up the spoon to see how much more of a disaster she had just made the dinner. One small taste had her scrunching her face up in disgust. She had gone way overboard with the salt, but she was much too afraid to admit that to Regina. She had only just met her; she couldn’t make such a fool of herself so soon. Though considering her previous track record, she was surprised she had lasted this long.

“How’s the sauce coming, dear?”

“Oh, the sauce? Yeah, the sauce is....um, it’s great. It’s really great, Regina. It’s probably the best sauce I’ve ever had!” Emma rambled, trying not to give away the fact that she had ruined yet another part of the meal.

“Thank you, Emma. It’s nice to have someone appreciate my cooking for once. Henry would eat pizza every night if I let him.” Regina responded with a chuckle. “Now, let me just get this in the oven and we can go have that drink.”

 

* * *

  
  


“Henry! Time for dinner!” Regina called up the stairs once the timer went off. She and Emma had spent quite a while talking and Regina was proud of herself for even flirting a bit. She was beginning to gain more confidence after spending so much time with Emma and realizing that the other woman seemed just as interested in her. She hadn’t expected to get along with Emma so well after just a day, but they were really hitting it off. She found herself wishing that Emma never had to leave.

“Wow, it smells amazing in here, ‘Gina.” Emma said as she walked back into the kitchen.

Regina raised her eyebrows. “‘Gina?”

Emma smiled. “Yeah, ‘Gina. I think it’s cute, just like you. It fits.”

Regina blushed, about to respond, when Henry suddenly appeared in the doorway. “Save the flirting for when I’m out of the room,” He groaned.

Regina’s face grew even redder as she realized that Henry had not been oblivious to the fact that she and Emma had been trying to flirt with each other all day. She cleared her throat and said, “Henry, would you please get some plates out.”

“Oh, here, let me help. You did all this work for dinner, at least let me pitch in.” Emma said as she grabbed three plates from the cupboard.

“You did help earlier, you know.” Regina said as she cut into the lasagna.

“Oh, yeah, I’m sure that creating a miniature tsunami of boiling water in your kitchen was sooo helpful.” Emma responded.

Regina laughed, remembering how much Emma had panicked when water had started to spill out of the pot. Her laughter ceased when she took a bite of lasagna and was instantly overwhelmed by the extreme taste of salt. Henry and Emma noticed it at the exact same time, and all three made faces of disgust as they chewed their food. Emma winced, having hoped that something else in the lasagna would have masked the taste of her slip up.

“Wow, Regina, this is really…great...”

“You don’t have to lie, Emma. This is awful. I don’t know what went wrong! I’ve made this recipe a hundred times.” Regina said.

Emma chuckled nervously before saying, “Yeah, um, I don’t know if it was your fault. I may have accidentally put too much salt in the sauce.”

“Well, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. You did warn me, after all.” Regina said with a wink.

“Yikes, Emma. Maybe you should leave the cooking to mom from now on.” Henry said as he pushed his plate away.

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that, kid. I’ll be staying far, far away from the kitchen from now on. Especially yours, I’m sure, if your mom has anything to say about it.” Emma said.

“What do you mean? My mom’s clearly in love with you.” Henry replied as Emma and Regina’s eyes widened. “Aren’t you guys like, practically dating now?”

Regina cleared her throat before saying, “Henry, why don’t you go into the kitchen and order us a pizza.”

“Really? Yes! Thanks, mom!” Henry yelled as he jumped up. “Way to go, Emma.” He whispered as he gave her a high five on his way out.

Regina raised her eyebrows. “I certainly hope you weren’t secretly working with my son to sabotage dinner.”

Emma’s eyes widened. “Oh, no. No way, ‘Gina! I would nev-”

“Emma, relax, I was simply joking.” Regina said with a laugh, laying her hand on Emma’s shoulder for reassurance.

Emma visibly calmed down. “Oh, right. Sorry.”

In an attempt to change the mood, Regina asked, “So, you said you had a brother in town?”

“Oh, yeah, I do. His name’s August Booth. You know him?”

“Mr. Booth? I wouldn’t have guessed that the two of you were related.”

“Yeah, we’re uh...well, he’s actually my foster brother.” Emma murmured, clearly not thrilled that she had to admit that to Regina.

“Oh, I didn’t realize-”

“That I was a foster kid? Yeah. I was left on the side of a road as a baby and grew up in the system. I went through a lot of shitty homes before I finally ended up with August and his family. They were by far the best family I ever had. I dated someone a while back, but it didn’t work out. I’ve been alone for a while now, but August and I have always stayed in touch.” Emma said, staring straight at the floor.

“Emma, you didn’t have to tell me all that.” Regina said as she held the blonde’s hand. “I appreciate it, though. I’m sure it can’t be easy to talk about your past. But I think it was very brave of you.”

Emma looked up at Regina with wide eyes. “Really? Do you mean that?”

Regina smiled. “Yes, Emma, I do. I want to know everything about you. As long as you’re willing to share, of course.”

“Seriously? You want to get to know me? I’m just a lonely, clumsy woman who can’t even cook.”

“Yes. I want to get to know you, Emma. The real you. And if the real you is clumsy and can’t cook and has a difficult past, then I want to know it all.”

“Regina, we just met. How can you possibly want-”

“I realize that I haven’t known you for long but that just makes me want to know you even more. I’ve never met anyone like you, Emma. I don’t know if you feel the same way about me as I do about you, but I truly like you, Emma. And I know that I don’t ever want you to feel lonely again. If you ever need someone to talk to, I want to be that person. I want to be here for you.”

Emma’s jaw dropped. “You...You would do that for me? You care about me that much?”

“Yes. I know it sounds crazy, but I have loved our time together today. I can’t even believe it myself but I’ve just found myself wishing you never had to leave so I could spend as much time with you as possible. I hope that doesn’t make me sound creepy.” Regina admitted with a blush, suddenly realizing that she probably should have kept some of her thoughts to herself.

“You...want to spend more time with me?” Emma asked.

“Yes, dear. Why is that so hard for you to believe?”

“I’m, uh...I guess I’m just not really used to being wanted.” Emma admitted. 

“Emma, I never want you to believe that you aren’t wanted. You are an incredibly kind, funny, and absolutely gorgeous woman. Whoever hasn’t wanted you in the past is simply insane.”

“Regina, you have no idea how much it means to me to hear someone say that.  I...I don’t even know what to say.” Emma said as she began to tear up.

“Then don’t say anything at all.” Regina said as she leaned in closer, stopping just as her lips were about to meet Emma’s.

“Emma-”

“Oh shut up and kiss me, woman.” Emma said before they both leaned in and met their lips together in a passionate kiss. 

“Hey, mom, I ordered the pizza. Should be here in-” Henry said as he walked back into the dining room, stopping when he saw the two women spring apart. “I didn’t see anything. Promise. I’ll just...Be in my room.” He said as he ran upstairs.

Regina and Emma looked at each other before bursting into laughter.

“Well, looks like we might’ve just scarred the kid for life.” Emma said with a giggle. “Sorry about that.”

“Don’t worry about it, dear. He’ll get over it. Now, how about we head into the study for some more cider? I don’t know about you, but I could really use something to get rid of the taste of that awful lasagna.” Regina teased.

“Hey, I happened to think that lasagna was lovely. Could’ve used a bit more salt, though.” Emma said with a laugh.

“Is that so? Maybe I should just leave the cooking to you next time, then.”

Emma’s eyes widened. “No way. Unless you wanna eat pizza for the rest of your life, I suggest you stick to the cooking.”

Regina laughed. “Yes, dear, I think that would be best.”

“I like that.”

“What?”

“When you call me ‘dear’. It’s sweet.” Emma answered with a smile.

“Oh, actually, I tend to call everyone that.” Regina admitted with a blush.

“Well, something tells me it’s a little more special in this case.” Emma said as she nudged Regina’s shoulder.

“Don’t flatter yourself, dear.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it, ‘Gina.”


	6. Chapter 6

“So, Emma, you said August had found a job for you here in town? What will you be doing?” Regina asked as she poured two glasses of cider.

“I’m actually going to be the deputy at the police station! August got me an interview with the sheriff over Skype. He seems like a pretty cool guy.”

“Yes, Graham is certainly going to be a great man to work with.” Regina said as she sat down next to Emma, handing her a glass. “Do you have much experience in this field?”

“Kind of. I mean, I was a bail bondsperson for a few years before this, and I imagine Storybrooke isn’t exactly the most crime ridden town.” Emma said with a laugh.

“Well, that is true, unless you consider angry drunks to be a threat to public safety.” Regina said with a chuckle.

“Guess that’ll give me more time to check up on the mayor, you know, just to make sure she’s safe and all.”

“Yes, well, you can never be too careful. I’m sure there are plenty of people in this town who would like to see my head on a stick. I didn’t get the nickname ‘Evil Queen’ for nothing, you know.”

“You don’t seem evil to me. They don’t know what they’re talking about. Maybe they just need to get to know you better! Then they’ll see that you’re nothing but a kind, beautiful woman who just wants what’s best for everyone.” Emma said, moving closer to Regina as she spoke. 

“I wish it were that easy. Sadly, there is never a way to please everyone. Every decision I make is met with an angry comment from someone who disagrees. But I suppose I didn’t get into the business of running a town in the hopes of making friends.” Regina said with a dry laugh.

“I’m so jealous of everyone who lives here.” Emma said suddenly.

“Why? Have you fallen in love with this town already?”

“No. Though I’m sure the town is great, if it’s been run by you for so long. I’m just jealous that everyone here has had a chance to be friends with you all this time. I’ve gone 28 years not knowing you and that seems like far too many, if you ask me. These idiots have all wasted a great opportunity to get to know a pretty awesome woman.”

Regina smiled, touched at Emma’s kind words. Before she knew it, Emma’s hand was on her knee and the blonde was leaning in. Her breath hitched as Emma’s lips connected with her own once more. As she moved her hand up to tangle in Emma’s blonde hair, they were interrupted by the sound of the doorbell. Regina jumped, sending Emma flying off the couch.

“Damn, woman! Do you ever get any privacy in this house?” Emma asked as Regina helped her up off the floor.

“Privacy is something I have been missing for the last ten years, I’m afraid. I suppose it’s for the best, though. I was terribly lonely before I had Henry.”

“Well, let me tell you, I’ve become quite the pro at being alone. Maybe now we can be lonely together.” Emma said as they walked to the door. “I hear it’s a little more fun that way.”

“I’m afraid you don’t understand the meaning of the word, dear. If you’d like to borrow a dictionary, I can certainly lend you one.” Regina said with a playful smirk.

“Oh, jeez, Regina. Don’t go all  Mayor Mills on me! What happened to the fun Regina who let us order a pizza?”

“Still here, dear. As evidenced by the fact that I am about to pay for said pizza. Would you mind running upstairs and letting Henry know that the food is here?”

“Sure thing, ‘Gina.”  
When Regina walked back to the kitchen, pizza in hand, she stopped in the doorway to watch Emma and Henry. 

“No way, kid! Nothing beats a good bear claw.” Emma said as she grabbed some plates from the cupboard.

“Oh yeah? What about pizza?” Henry asked.

“If you’re gonna argue in favor of delicious, cheesy foods, it would have to be grilled cheese, obviously.” 

“With root beer!” Henry added, earning him a fist bump from Emma. 

“True that, kid. Alright, I’ll give it to you. Grilled cheese  _ might  _ be better than a bear claw. But picture this: a bear claw and some hot chocolate-”

“With cinnamon!” Henry said at the same time as Emma, causing the blonde’s jaw to drop.

“You drink hot chocolate with cinnamon? Man, just when I thought you couldn’t get any cooler.”

Henry smiled wide as Emma ruffled his hair and Regina finally entered the room.

“Are you two ever going to talk about anything other than food?”

“Maybe we will when we find something better to talk about. Which will probably never happen, right kid?” Emma asked.

Henry nodded as Regina just shook her head in disbelief. Emma was more of a child than her own son, but she loved how goofy the woman was.

“What do you say we eat this and watch a movie?” Regina asked.

Henry and Emma both pumped their fists victoriously before giving each other a high five.

“I’ll take that as a yes, then.” Regina said with a chuckle. “Why don’t the two of you go choose a movie and I’ll be out shortly with dinner?”

“No way, Regina, let me help. You go sit down, I can take care of this.” Emma offered.

“Are you sure?” Regina asked, not used to people offering to help her.

“Yes, I’m sure! Unless you don’t think I can handle putting a few pieces of pizza on some plates. Remember, someone else already did the cooking part so I think I can take it from here.”

Regina laughed before thanking Emma and going to join Henry in the living room.

Fifteen minutes later, Emma appeared in the living room holding three plates. 

“What took so long, dear? I was beginning to wonder if the task was beyond your abilities after all.” Regina said with a smirk.

“Ha ha, very funny. I was actually just trying to make you a salad. You don’t exactly seem like the pizza loving type.” Emma said as she set the plates down.

“Well, you are correct. Thank you, Emma, I really appreciate it.” Regina said with a smile.

“Don’t worry about it. So, what are we watching?” Emma asked as she took a seat next to Regina on the couch.

“Star Wars, obviously! It’s basically the best movie ever.” Henry said from the other side of Regina.

“Are you kidding? This is, like, my favorite movie!” Emma said as she gave Henry another high five.

“Looks like the two of you might have found something new to talk about.” Regina said as she laughed at the two children.

“Mom, Emma’s so cool! I’m so glad you guys are dating! This is awesome!” Henry yelled before taking a bite of his pizza.

Regina’s eyes widened and Emma tried to stifle a laugh. “Henry, Emma and I aren’t dating.”

“Why not? You like each other, right? And you were kissing earlier. Which, can you please not do around me again? Cause that’s just gross.”

“Kid, your mom and I have only known each other for one day! You’re right, I do like her, but I think we’re gonna have to take it a little slower than that. We still don’t even know that much about each other.” 

“My mom likes salad with grilled chicken, she  _ hates  _ the movie Snow White, her favorite food is apples, and she says she doesn’t like dogs but she always pets Pongo when she thinks nobody’s looking. What else do you want to know?”

Regina’s jaw dropped and Emma couldn’t hold in her laughter any longer. “Wow, ‘Gina, looks like you’ve got a little matchmaker on your hands!”

“Henry, let’s just watch the movie, alright? I want to finish it before your bedtime. We’ll talk more about this tomorrow, okay?”

Henry shrugged and continued to eat his pizza, turning his attention to the TV.

“So, I guess we have his permission, then, huh?” Emma whispered to Regina with a smile.

“It would appear so.” Regina replied with a chuckle. “Now, I suggest we watch the movie. It is your favorite, after all.”

Emma nodded as she leaned back, grabbing Regina’s hand. Regina looked over at her with a smile and settled in on the couch, leaning against Emma’s shoulder.

 

* * *

  
  


Once Henry had gone to bed and Emma had helped Regina with the dishes, the two stood awkwardly in the living room, not sure what to do next. 

“So, I just wanted to thank you for today.” Emma said as she fidgeted with her hands. “I had a lot of fun. I should probably get home, though, if you have work in the morning. And I don’t think my new roommate would appreciate me getting back much later than this. But thanks for making my first day in town a special one.”

“Do you really have to go?” Regina asked with a frown, hoping to spend more time with the blonde.

“Well, this date has to end sometime, right?”

“This was a date?” Regina asked as she raised her eyebrows.

“Did you want it to be?”

“Well, I’d hardly call hanging out in the airport and spending an evening with my son great date material.” Regina said with a laugh.

“Let me take you on a real date, then.” Emma said with a blush.

Regina smiled. “I would love that, Emma.”

“Really? Great! Can I get your phone number then? So I can text you and figure out a plan.” Emma said with a smile.

They exchanged numbers and Regina walked Emma out to the porch.

“Goodnight, ‘Gina!” Emma said, giving the brunette a quick kiss before skipping down the stairs. 

“Goodnight, Emma.” Regina said with a laugh.

She watched as Emma walked down the driveway before stopping at the street and turning around. 

“Uh…’Gina?”

“Yes, dear?”

“I have no idea where I’m going.”

Regina laughed and said, “Let me give you a ride home.”


	7. Chapter 7

After that day, Regina and Emma texted each other nonstop. Regina even snuck a few peeks at her phone during her meetings, trying not to smile down at her phone in her lap and give away the fact that she wasn’t paying attention. To Regina’s surprise, Emma even followed through with what she had said about wanting to take Regina on a real first date. 

Two days after Emma’s arrival in Storybrooke, Regina stood in front of her closet, trying to decide what to wear for her date. She hadn’t gone out on a proper date with anyone in years, and she was getting more nervous by the minute.

“Mom, Granny’s here!” Henry called from upstairs, making Regina groan. She had to hurry up and pick something before it was time to leave. 

“I’ll be right down!” She called out as she slipped on one of her favorite black dresses. With a quick glance in the mirror to make sure her hair and makeup looked presentable, she rushed downstairs to wait for Emma.

“Damn, Regina! Looking good!” Granny said with a whistle as Regina walked down the stairs. 

Regina glared at the woman before starting to tell her everything she needed to know about watching Henry. Minutes later, the doorbell rang, and Regina instantly felt her nerves come back.

Regina opened the door, ready to greet Emma, but her words caught in her throat when she saw what the blonde was wearing. She couldn’t seem to take her eyes off of Emma’s beautiful red dress, and Regina’s outfit choice seemed to be having the same effect.

“Hey, lovebirds! You gonna move or just stand there gawking at each other all night?” Granny hollered. 

Regina snapped out of it, finally saying, “Wow, Emma, you look...incredible.”

“You too, ‘Gina. Damn. I mean, I knew you were beautiful, but…” She was lost for words as she continued to stare at the other woman. Emma cleared her throat before saying, “Well, should we get going? Don’t want to be late for our reservation.”

Regina turned to give Henry a hug and thank Granny one last time before heading out the door with Emma. 

“So, what exactly do you have planned for tonight?” Regina asked.

“You’ll see. It’s a surprise! Though I have to warn you, I know little to nothing about Storybrooke so it might turn out to be a total disaster. I’m just gonna hope that my company will be enough to make it a good night no matter what happens.”

“I’m sure it will be, dear. So, is this the precious car you were telling me about?” Regina asked as Emma held open the passenger door of her old, yellow bug.

“Yep. Isn’t she beautiful?”

Regina hesitated. “Is this car safe? It looks pretty old.”

“Oh, calm down, woman. I’m not trying to lure you to your death. My car is perfectly safe.”

“Really? It looks to me like it might be a death trap of sorts.”

“Oh, just get in, would you? I promise I won’t let anything bad happen to you. Not that anything would. Because my car is fine. Perfectly fine.” Emma said as Regina finally sat down.

“Now, if I could only remember how to turn it on…” Emma joked, earning her a slap on the shoulder from Regina.

“Just drive, dear. Unless you’d like to spend another evening eating pizza with a ten year old.”

“Sounds pretty good to me, actually.” Emma said with a grin. “You know, it wouldn’t matter at all to me what we did, as long as we got to spend more time together. But I want to take you somewhere special, ‘cause I think you’re special. So even though spending my night at your house watching movies and hanging out with your kid sounds great, I want to take you out. You deserve it. Besides, getting to see you in that dress makes it all worth it.” She said with a wink.

“Well, I considered wearing my favorite pair of sweatpants, but I’m glad I went with this instead.” Regina said as Emma pulled out of her driveway.

“Yeah, right. Do you even own sweatpants?” 

“What makes you think I don’t own sweatpants?”

“I don’t know, I guess you just seem like the kind of woman who wears pantsuits to bed.” Emma said with a smirk.

“I can assure you, dear, that is not the case.” 

“Regina, you were wearing a business outfit and heels on the plane. Who wears heels to the airport? That’s when you’re supposed to dress, like, as comfortably as you possibly can.”

“I wasn’t aware that a plane ticket came with a dress code.”

“Hey, I’m not saying you looked bad. Far from it, actually. I’m really just jealous that you probably look incredible no matter what you wear.”

“I doubt I could pull off a leather jacket and skinny jeans as well as you, dear.” Regina said with a chuckle.

Emma’s eyes widened. “Okay, now that is something I need to see.”

“Keep dreaming. That is never going to happen.”

“I bet I can get you to change your mind. I mean, look at me. I’m way too cute to say no to.”

Regina simply laughed. “Is that so? I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see.”

Emma laughed and reached over to hold Regina’s hand. The two of them simply sat in silence as Emma drove, music playing softly from the radio. 

After a few minutes, Emma broke the silence. “Okay, I really don’t want to ruin this surprise but I think I might be super lost, so...how do we get to Granny’s from here?” Emma asked nervously.

“Granny’s? Really? That’s the big surprise?” Regina asked, trying not to laugh.

“Um, have you ever been there? The bear claws are incredible. It’s probably the greatest restaurant in town.”

“Emma, it’s practically the only restaurant in town.”

“Oh. Well, like I said, I don’t really know much about this place. Cut me some slack! Anyways, there’s still a surprise waiting for you when we get there. So can you please just help me out here? I have no clue where we are”

Regina laughed. “How do you get lost in Storybrooke? It’s nothing compared to the city you used to live in.”

Emma pouted. “‘Gina, stop making fun of me! I’m still not used to this place. It looks so different in the dark, too.”

“Well, maybe this wouldn’t have happened if we had just taken my car.” Regina said with a smirk.

“Hey! My car has nothing to do with my inability to remember directions. Do not hate on my bug, woman!”

“I’m sorry, dear. Your bug is lovely. Just take a right turn up here and it should get us there.”

“Thank you. Maybe you should pick the date next time.” Emma said with a nervous chuckle.

“Emma, please stop panicking. I’m sure that whatever you have planned will be great. As you said before, I would be content to do anything with you, but I’m touched that you put so much effort into planning a nice evening.”

Regina’s words helped Emma relax a little, but she was still nervous the rest of the way to the restaurant. She only hoped Regina didn’t notice how much her hand was sweating.

“Okay, we made it! Accomplishment number one.” Emma said proudly as she opened Regina’s door. 

“Congratulations, dear. I’m very proud.” Regina said with a smirk as she grabbed Emma’s hand. She was beginning to love the way it felt to have her hand intertwined with the blonde’s.

“So, what’s the big surprise?” She asked as they walked up to the front door.

“Close your eyes!” Emma said with a grin.

“Is that really necessary?”

“Yes, it is. Now, come on, keep em closed. Don’t think I’m not watching you.”

With a sigh, Regina closed her eyes and stuck her tongue out at Emma for good measure.

“Come on, mayor crankypants. Let’s just go inside.”

Regina heard the familiar tinkling of the bell above the door. “Can I open them yet?”

“Go ahead!” Regina opened her eyes, expecting to see the same old diner she often got coffee at before work. She was shocked to see that the whole room had been transformed. Twinkling lights had been hung up all over the ceiling, and one small table sat in the middle of the room, adorned with candles and a beautiful bouquet of pink roses.

“Emma, this is incredible!” Regina said with a gasp. “How did you do all this?”

“I got to talking with Ruby the other day when I was enjoying a bear claw...or three...Anyways, she talked to Granny for me and they said they wanted to help me plan the perfect date! Something about trying to get the mayor laid? I don’t know, but they agreed to let me use the diner tonight. Ruby and I decorated this afternoon.”

She pulled out a chair for Regina before walking around to the other side of the table. “So, you strike me as the kind of person who likes things to go as planned and always follows the rules. Which, don’t get me wrong, that’s a great quality to have. But unfortunately, I was not blessed with those skills. You said you wanted to get to know me, so I’m trying to show you who I really am. And who I really am….is the type of person who would eat pie for dinner. And has, on more than one occasion. So I figured that might be a great thing for us to try tonight.”

Regina raised her eyebrows as Ruby walked out from the kitchen holding two plates of pie. She set the plates down and gave Emma a high five before walking back into the kitchen.

“Hope you like apple!” Emma said with a nervous smile.

“It’s my favorite! But I thought Granny’s didn’t serve apple pie?”

“They do now. Just took a little convincing and, of course, my charm.”

“How did you know I loved apple pie so much?”

“Henry told me. The other night when he was telling me about you, he said you love apples. And I figured, well, even a salad loving mayor has to like pie! So, apple it is.” Emma said proudly.

Regina reached across the table to hold Emma’s hand. “Emma, thank you so much. It means a lot to me that you remembered that and cared enough to put all of this together.”

Emma smiled at her before leaning in to give her a kiss. Just as their lips were about to meet, though, Regina pulled back and gently put a dollop of whipped cream on Emma’s nose with her finger.

Regina tried not to laugh as Emma pouted. “What was that for? I thought we were having a moment.” Emma said, sticking out her bottom lip.

“Well, I’m simply trying to take a lesson from you and be more spontaneous. You brought this upon yourself, dear.” Regina said, unable to hold in her laughter.

“Fine. I’ll let it slide. But only ‘cause you’re so cute! Now, get over here!”

Regina laughed again before leaning over to give Emma a real kiss.

 


	8. Chapter 8

Emma was pleased that her date with Regina had gone as well as she had hoped, if not better. They had talked for hours and gone on a romantic walk around the lake after leaving Granny’s. Every day after that, Emma brought lunch to Regina’s office and the two ate together, talking and laughing. Graham had given Emma had a couple weeks before starting work in order to give her time to settle in.

“How’s my favorite mayor doing today?” Emma asked as she let herself in to Regina’s office.

“Just fine, dear. How has your day been?” Regina asked as she gave Emma a kiss.

“I’ve been bored out of my mind. But now I’m with my favorite person so my day has really turned around!” Emma said as she took a seat on Regina’s couch.

“I can’t possibly be your favorite person. What about Henry?” Regina asked with a smirk.

“Hey, the kid’s great, but he’s got nothing on his smoking hot mom.” Emma said with a wink as she pulled their lunches out of her bag. “So, I know this isn’t your usual salad from Granny’s, but Mary Margaret insisted that I bring the leftovers from last night.”

“I’m sorry-Mary Margaret?”

“Yeah, Mary Margaret Blanchard? My roommate? She made way too much food last night, so-”

“Your roommate is Mary Margaret Blanchard?” Regina interrupted.

“Um, yes? Why?”

“I despise that woman.” Regina mumbled.

“What’s wrong with her? She’s probably one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met.”

“She’s _too_ sweet, Emma. And she has a problem with birds. If Henry asks me to help him build one more bird house-”

“Oh, yeah, I think she mentioned that she’s Henry teacher! What are the odds? I just can’t get over how small Storybrooke is.”

“Too small if you ask me.” Regina grumbled.

“Alright, note to self. No more talking about Mary Margaret. Now, can we just have lunch? I don’t want to take up too much of your time. I’m sure you have a ton of work to get done and want me to get out of your hair.” Emma said as she dramatically fell onto the couch with a sigh.

“Emma, stop pouting. I don’t have any more meetings today so you can stay as long as you’d like. I just have to finish some paperwork but I could use some company.”

“Really? Yay! My plans for the afternoon included sitting on the couch and finishing my bag of jellybeans, so this is gonna be way more fun.”

“I’m sure you’re glad to be starting work on Monday.” Regina said with a laugh.

“Ugh, I’m so excited. These last few weeks have been torture. Aside from the time with you, of course. When you’re at work I nearly lose my mind. I really need some friends.”

“You have Ruby!”

“Are you kidding? Ruby works even more than you, which I didn’t think was possible. When she isn’t working, she’s following Belle around like a lost puppy. The only time I can see her is when I hang out in the diner, but everytime I do that I end up eating way too many bear claws.”

Regina laughed before opening up the container of food Emma had brought.

“I think you might just have a problem with self control, dear.”

 

* * *

  


Regina walked down to the sheriff’s station that Monday after stopping at Granny’s to pick up lunch for herself and Emma. She always loved their daily lunch breaks together, and she was looking forward to hearing about the blonde’s first day of work. She thought it might be nice to bring Emma lunch for once, considering they had eaten in her office almost every day for two weeks.

“Good afternoon, sheriff.” Regina said as she entered the station.

“Mayor Mills, hi!” Graham said as he scrambled to his feet. “I was hoping you might come by soon. I wanted to introduce Deputy Swan, the newest member of Storybrooke’s police team.” He said as he motioned to Emma who was sitting at her desk.

“Yes, I was actually stopping by to have lunch with Emma. I trust her first day is going well?”

“Yeah, it’s been great! She’s a natural!” Graham said with a smile. “So, the two of you have already met, then?”

“We certainly have.” Regina said with a smile as she walked over to Emma’s desk, handing her the bag of food. “I brought your favorite.”

“You brought me a bear claw for lunch?”

“Alright, your second favorite. Grilled cheese and french fries. Though would you really be surprised if I gave you a pastry for lunch after that whole ‘pie for dinner’ stunt?”

“Oh please, you loved that. But seriously, thanks for lunch, Regina. It’s really great to see you again.”

“We just saw each other yesterday, dear.”

“So? I still missed you.”

“And I missed you. You know, Emma, this uniform really is a step up from your usual attire. I think you should wear this more often.” Regina said with a smirk as she adjusted Emma’s tie.

“Are you kidding? This thing is awful! I’m still trying to convince Graham to let me wear my leather jacket. Who says I can’t fight crime and look great at the same time?”

“Well, I think you look cute. Besides, Graham clearly went to a lot of trouble to get this for you. It’s even got your name-” Regina stopped as she noticed what was written on Emma’s name tag.

_E. Swan_

_Swan? Why did it say Swan? Had Graham really said Deputy Swan earlier?_

Regina gasped as she realized exactly who she was looking at.

_Emma Swan. Henry’s birth mother._

“Regina? Everything okay?” Emma asked as she put a hand on Regina’s cheek.

“I...I…”

Emma had once again left her speechless, though this time for different reasons. How had she been so stupid? In two weeks, she hadn’t once asked for Emma’s last name? She had just assumed it would have been the same as August’s, but she realized that was a stupid thought. They were foster siblings, why would they share a last name?

“I....I’m sorry, dear, I just remembered that I have a meeting. I have to go. Enjoy your lunch!” Regina called as she ran out of the building.

Emma shrugged before digging into her food. She knew how Regina got about work, and she didn’t want to bother her. She’d just give her a call later that night and see if everything was okay.

Once Regina was outside, she turned a corner and stood in an alley, hoping to avoid being seen. Tears began to fall as she realized that the woman she thought she knew turned out to be the woman she hoped she never had to meet. Should she tell Emma the truth? Should she tell _Henry_? She knew that this was something that could ruin her relationship with Emma before it even started. She was certain that she had feelings for the blonde, but what would she do with this new information? She didn’t want to risk having Emma take Henry away from her. With a sigh, she wiped the tears from her eyes and walked to her car to go find the one place that could help her deal with her problems.

 

* * *

 

“Hey, Emma, I just got a call about a disturbance down at the Rabbit Hole. It’s probably Leroy picking fights again. He’s one of the worst; you’ll probably be dealing with him a lot. Wanna go down there with me before your shift ends and check it out?” Graham said that afternoon as he put on his jacket.

“Sure! Regina did warn me about angry drunks. I guess that’s one of your biggest problems here, huh?”

“Unfortunately, yes. So, Regina told you that? You two seem pretty close.”

“Yeah, I guess you could say that.” Emma said with a smile.

“Well, let’s get down there before he does something really stupid.” Graham said as the two of them walked to the cruiser.

When they arrived at the Rabbit Hole, they weren’t surprised to see Leroy in the midst of a fight. What they hadn’t expected, though, was who he was fighting with.

“ _Regina_?” Emma called as she rushed over to the woman, who had started yelling at Leroy in Spanish.

“Regina, calm down! What’s going on?” Emma asked as she attempted to pull an angry Regina away from the man.

“Emma? What are you doing here?” Regina asked as she attempted to wriggle away from the blonde.

“I work at the police station now, remember? We got a call about someone causing trouble. I certainly didn’t expect it to be you. Are you alright?” Emma said as Graham pulled Leroy outside.

“Well, I’m sorry to make you come all the way here but Leroy is just infuriating. We were simply having a disagreement. I promise you, Miss Swan, I am perfectly fine.” Regina slurred as she attempted to walk away, stumbling over as she did so.

Emma caught her before she could fall. “Regina, you’re clearly not fine and I am definitely not letting you drive home. Let me give you a ride.”

Regina laughed. “If you think I am setting foot in your car, think again, Miss Swan.”

Emma frowned. “I thought we were past that. Besides, my car isn’t here. I’ll just drive yours.”

“And let you get us lost in the middle of the woods or something? Yeah right.” Regina grumbled.

“Damn, you’re mean when you’re drunk.” Emma said with a pout. “Come on, I think I know how to get to your place by now. Can I please have your keys?”

Regina glared at Emma before fishing her keys out of her purse. Emma was the last person she wanted to see (even though she couldn’t remember why) but she knew she was in no condition to drive. She couldn’t even remember where she had parked her car.

Emma looked around for Graham to let him know she would be taking Regina home as she held on to the stumbling woman. Once outside, she finally found the sheriff. He was chasing after his own car, which was being recklessly driven by Leroy. They watched as Leroy crashed Graham’s police cruiser right into the side of a black Mercedes.

Regina’s jaw dropped. “That idiot did not just ruin my car. I am going to-”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, calm down, ‘Gina.” Emma interrupted, holding her back. “Don’t freak out.”

“Don’t freak out? That drunk idiot just crashed into my car! How am I supposed to get to work now? Or pick up my son from school? Do not tell me not to freak out!”

“Hey, Regina, it’s going to be okay. We’ll get your car fixed and in the meantime I can give you rides to work if you want. We’ll figure it out, okay?”

Regina groaned, turning to puke in a nearby bush. “Just get me home, Miss Swan. I can’t deal with this right now.”

“Um, okay. Well, your car is not driveable and mine is still at the station. Guess we’re walking.”

“If you think I am walking all the way home like this, you’re mistaken.”

Emma sighed as she picked Regina up.

“What are you doing?” Regina shrieked.

“I’m carrying you home. This is kind of our only option right now.”

Regina wanted to complain, but she knew it would be better than stumbling home in her heels. With a sigh, she wrapped her arms around Emma’s neck and leaned into her. Her afternoon of drinking had turned out to be quite a success. She had already forgotten why she was so desperate to hate the blonde.

“Mmm. You smell good.”

Emma laughed. “What happened to mean Regina?”

“She’s still here. And mad at you. But that doesn’t mean you don’t smell good.”

Emma frowned. “Mad at me? What did I do?”

Regina paused. “Um. I forgot. But I’m still mad!”

Emma laughed, hoping it was just the woman’s drunk brain making her think crazy things. “Well then, grumpy Regina, let’s get you home. Henry’s probably waiting for you.”

“Henry’s at a friend’s house. Do you really think I would go out and get this drunk if I had to take care of my son?”

“Why _did_ you go out and get this drunk?” Emma questioned. “I thought you had a meeting?”

“Yeah, a meeting with a bottle of vodka.” Regina mumbled to herself. “It was just a hard day, okay? Why do you care?”

“Because I care about you, Regina. I just want to make sure you’re okay.”

“Well, I was fine until that wretched man crashed into my car. Maybe I need to hire a new sheriff. One who can actually handle the drunken idiots of this town.”

“Hey, I just started! Don’t fire me too!”

“Would it get you to leave?” Regina asked.

Emma stopped. “Is that what you want? For me to leave?”

“Well...no, I really don’t. But for some reason I feel like I should.” Regina said with a sigh. “Emma, I’m too drunk to think right now. Can we just go home?”

“Yeah, sure. I think you just need some sleep.” Emma said. They were both silent the rest of the way to Regina’s. Emma was desperately trying to remember if she had done something wrong, and Regina had fallen asleep after a few minutes.

When they reached the mayor’s house, Emma used the keys she had confiscated from Regina earlier to unlock the front door. She carried Regina up to her room and gently laid her down. She kissed her forehead before tucking her in and leaving the room.

  



	9. Chapter 9

Regina woke up the next morning with a pounding headache. She groaned before sitting up and noticing a glass of water and a bottle of aspirin on her nightstand. She didn’t remember putting it there, but then again, she didn’t remember much from the afternoon before.

She headed down to Henry’s room to wake him up, but she was shocked to find his room empty. She panicked before remembering that she had let him stay at a friend’s house the night before so that they could finish a school project. Probably another damn bird house.

She made coffee and got ready for the day, attempting to push through the pain of her hangover. She couldn’t even remember the last time she had drank so much, and she was beginning to realize why that was. Just as she was finishing her second cup of coffee, the doorbell rang.

“Emma! What a nice surprise! What are you doing here so early?”

“Oh, you’re not mad at me anymore? I’m guessing you don’t remember anything that happened yesterday.” Emma said with a nervous chuckle.

“Not really, I’m afraid. Why? Is everything okay? Is Henry okay? What did you do?” Regina started to worry, wondering what she had missed.

“Everything’s fine, Regina! Well, kind of. The kid’s alright, at least. I mean, I assume so. I haven’t heard anything and no news is good news, right? And I didn’t do anything, at least not that I know of. You just-”

“Emma, you’re rambling.”

“Right. Sorry. The thing is...Leroy stole Graham’s car yesterday and crashed it into yours.” Regina’s eyes widened and Emma could tell she was about to get very angry. “Before you freak out, let me tell you everything. You went to the Rabbit Hole and got super drunk, but I have no clue why. You started fighting with Leroy and they called us down there to break it up. Leroy apparently had some pent up anger because he completely ruined your car. But don’t worry, we had it towed and Michael’s working on it right now. He said he hopes to have it done in a few weeks.”

“A few weeks? Emma, I can’t wait a few weeks! I need my car!”

“That’s where I come in!” Emma said proudly. “I talked to Graham and he said he wouldn’t mind if I ended up coming in a few minutes late each day so I can give you rides to work. I know you hate my car and this is probably not ideal, but I don’t think you have many other options.”

Regina sighed. “Oh, Emma. That’s so sweet of you. Thank you.” She gave the blonde a quick kiss before inviting her inside for some coffee.

“So, why did you think I would be mad at you this morning?” Regina asked as they sat down at the table.

“Oh, I was actually gonna ask you that. Yesterday you said you were mad at me but you couldn’t remember why. It was pretty adorable, actually. It was like you were trying to be mad but failing miserably because you kept telling me I smelled good.”

Regina put her head in her hands. “Oh God. What other embarrassing things did I do?”

“You really got into it with Leroy. You started yelling at him in Spanish, which I did not know you could do. It’s very hot, by the way.” Regina blushed. “You also puked in a bush outside the bar and then had me carry you home.”

Regina groaned. “I’m so sorry you had to deal with that. I don’t know what got into me!”

“About ten shots of vodka would be my guess.” Emma said with a smirk. “But it’s okay, ‘Gina. Deputy Swan came to the rescue! It made for a pretty eventful first day on the job.”

“Deputy Swan?” Regina asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah, like my last name? Emma Swan. Says right here.” Emma pointed to her name tag.

Regina’s jaw dropped as memories from the day before came flooding back.

“Emma Swan. Emma Swan from Tallahassee? Emma Swan from apartment 205?  _ That  _ Emma Swan?”

“Uh...yes? How’d you know my old apartment number?”

“Oh, uh, you must’ve just mentioned it before. I don’t remember.”

“‘Gina, are you okay? You’re acting kinda weird.”

“It’s just this hangover, dear. I’m really not feeling like myself.” She wasn’t lying. She really did feel awful. Add to that the fact that she had just remembered she had spent the last few weeks kissing her son’s birth mother...well, things were not looking up.

“Well, we should probably get going. Do you think you’ll be okay to go to work?” Emma asked.

“You know, I might just walk. I could use the fresh air.”

“Okay, that is a ridiculously long walk in heels and besides, something tells me you’re just trying to find an excuse to not have to sit in my car again.”

“No, that’s not it. I just need the exercise.”

“Regina Mills, you do not need to walk five miles to work ‘for the exercise’. Come on, just let me give you a ride!”

“Miss Swan-”

“No. Do not ‘Miss Swan’ me! Are you seriously gonna walk to work every day for the next few weeks? Just let me drive you. It’ll be like a road trip!”

Regina raised her eyebrows. “A road trip? It’s five miles, Miss Swan.”

Emma rolled her eyes. “Obviously I know that. I’m just trying to make it sound more fun. We can listen to music, talk, maybe stop by Granny’s for breakfast a few times.”

Regina wanted to say yes. She really did. But she knew that getting close to Emma could be dangerous. She didn’t want to risk losing her son for the sake of some fling with a woman she had just met. For all she knew, Emma came to Storybrooke specifically to find Henry. She knew it was a long shot, but she just couldn’t help but think that the woman was only using her to get closer to her son.

“Emma-”

“I’m not taking no for an answer. I’m law enforcement now, ‘Gina. I think you should probably listen to me.”

“Or what? You’ll arrest me?”

“Okay, well, we both know I have no real power here! I’m just trying to help you out, woman!”

“I don’t need your help!”

Emma frowned. “Whoa. Okay. Look, I’m sorry if I seem a little pushy. I just...I want to be able to take care of you. I don’t want to mess this up, whatever it is. I like you, Regina.”

Regina sighed. Why did Emma have to make it so hard to be mean? She was used to getting what she wanted just by using her ‘scary mayor voice’ as she had once overheard Mary Margaret call it. But Emma just had to keep fighting back.

“Look, if you really want to walk, then I’ll leave. I just...I don’t want to fight anymore. This is dumb.” Emma said with a sigh.

“Well, sometimes friends fight, Miss Swan. I suggest you get used to it.”

“Friends? Is that what I am to you? Just a friend?”

Regina hesitated. It’s not what she wanted Emma to be, she knew that. But she also knew that they couldn’t be together. Not when she knew the truth. Not when she knew who Emma really was, even if Emma didn’t know it herself.

“I...I don’t know.” She glanced at her watch with a sigh. “I suppose if I walk now, I’ll just be late. If you’re still offering a ride, I will gladly accept it.”

Emma smiled after a moment of hesitation, turning and heading towards her car. Once inside, she gathered the courage to ask Regina a question. “So, um, does this mean you’re still mad at me? For whatever it is I did? Cause I really don’t like it. If you just told me what it-”

“You didn’t do anything wrong, Miss Swan.”

“Really? Cause you keep calling me that and it’s kinda freaking me out.”

“I can assure you, dear, you’ve done nothing at all. I drank way more than I should have yesterday and it seems to be affecting me rather poorly, if you can believe it. So can we please talk about something else? Or nothing. No talking would be fine too.”

Emma frowned, still unsure she believed that Regina wasn’t angry and her bad mood was purely from her hangover. “Sure, ‘Gina. Whatever you want.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“What? ‘Gina? I thought you liked it?”

“I never said that.”

“Well, what should I call you then?”

“You could try my name, for one.”

“Fine. But you have to stop calling me Miss Swan.”

Regina laid her head against the window with a frown. “‘Gina it is, then.”

 


	10. Chapter 10

“Henry, hurry up! You’re going to be late for school!” Regina called as she poured a cup of coffee.

“Mom, calm down. I’m ready to go.” Henry said as he walked into the kitchen. “Hey, do you think Emma could give me a ride today? I have to bring my project home from school and I don’t really want to carry it on the bus.”

Regina hesitated. “Can you just leave it there until I get my car back? It’s only a few more days. I don’t want Emma to be late to work.”

Henry sighed. “Why don’t you ever let me hang out with Emma anymore? It was so much fun having her come over for dinner. Are you guys fighting?”

“Henry, Emma and I are not fighting. Things are just...complicated right now. We’ve both been very busy with work and she hasn’t had much free time.” She didn’t want to admit to Henry the real reason she wanted to keep distance between the two of them. If he knew that Emma was his birth mother, he would certainly want to get closer to her. That was the last thing she needed.

“Are you sure that’s it? Cause you don’t seem as happy anymore as you did when she first got here. Those first two weeks were so much fun, and now you’re just back to your old, grumpy self.” He said with a frown.

Regina stopped. When she really thought about it, she realized Henry was right. She had felt so much happier when she and Emma had been having lunch breaks together everyday. The blonde used to brighten her day, and now her heart broke a little more every time she saw her. Knowing that they couldn’t be together made her rides to and from work every day so painful.

“Henry, I’m sorry if you don’t think I’m as fun as Emma. She’s kind of like a big child, but I’m used to having to take care of you, and it’s hard for me watching you grow up so fast. I guess I just need to work on doing more things with you rather than for you. I know Emma likes to eat junk food and play video games with you, but those things are all new for me. Please don’t give up on me. I love you.”

Henry frowned. “What are you talking about? Why would I give up on you? I mean sure, Emma’s fun, but she can’t even cook. She probably couldn’t help me with my homework or take care of me when I was sick. Why are we talking about Emma like she’s about to replace you, anyways?”

Regina had tears in her eyes. Her biggest fear the last few weeks had been seeing Henry leave her to be with his real mom. But she knew that that role was hers alone. Henry was her son, and she was doing her best to raise him well. She realized that he was starting to see that, and nothing made her happier.

“I’m sorry, Henry. I’m just not feeling like myself today, I suppose. Now, you had better get going before you miss your bus. Oh, and If Miss Blanchard won’t let you keep your project at school, tell her to give me a call.” Regina said with a smirk.

Henry smiled and waved as he walked out the door. “Thanks, mom. See you later!”

Just as Henry left, Emma showed up on the front step.

“Hey, ‘Gina. How’s it going?”

“Just fine, Miss Swan. And yourself?”

“Good. Um...I brought you these.” Emma said with a blush as she held out a beautiful bouquet of pink roses, just like the ones the blonde had chosen for their first date.

“They’re lovely, Emma. Thank you.” Regina said as she took the flowers. Sometimes she forgot that she was supposed to be avoiding the blonde. Every day for the past week and a half, Emma had brought her something new. One day, it was a whole apple pie that Emma had made with Mary Margaret’s help. Another day, she had brought a box of chocolates because she knew that Regina liked to keep a secret stash hidden in her house at all times. She had even brought her an expensive bottle of wine one morning.

Whenever Regina tried to refuse a gift or ask why Emma had gotten it in the first place, she simply brushed it off. She always just told Regina she had simply been thinking about her and that it was no big deal. Regina figured that Emma had realized she was becoming more distant and was trying to do something to stop it. 

“So, I bet you’re happy that your car is almost ready, huh?” Emma asked as they drove to Regina’s office.

“I can’t wait. These two weeks have felt like forever!”

“Yeah, I’m sure they have.” Emma said with a frown. She had tried so hard to prove to Regina how much she liked her, but nothing had worked. If anything, Regina had seemed to start growing even further away from her. She’d thought that the two of them would have enjoyed spending their mornings together, but it only seemed to get more awkward with each day.

Regina could see how much she was hurting Emma. It killed her to see how hard Emma was trying and how let down she was, but there was still that voice inside her head telling her that Emma only wanted Henry. That she never liked Regina, she just wanted to take away her son. And Regina just couldn’t see past it, no matter how hard she tried.

“So, um, I was thinking, our last date was kind of a while ago, and uh...maybe you would want to have dinner again sometime? Mary Margaret has been teaching me to cook. Well, she’s been trying, at least. It appears I’m not exactly a great student.” Emma said with a nervous chuckle. “But I think I’m starting to get better. So if you wanted to come over one night, maybe we could try that lasagna again?”

“That sounds lovely, dear. I’ll have to get back to you on that, though. My schedule has been so hectic lately, I just don’t know where I’ll find the time.”

Emma frowned, trying to hide her disappointment but failing. Weeks of rejection had made her much less optimistic. “Oh, yeah, I get it. I know being mayor requires a lot of time. It’s cool.”

They pulled to a stop in front of Regina’s office. “Well, thank you again for the ride Emma. I’ll see you this afternoon.”

Emma waved sadly as Regina got out of the car. “Have a good day.”

 

* * *

  
  


“So, mom, you know how you said we could start looking for my birth mother again?” Henry asked that night at dinner.

Regina’s eyes widened. “Uh, yes. Yes, of course I remember. Is that still something you would like to pursue?”

“Yeah, I think so. And I was thinking, didn’t Emma say she used to like, track people down for a living? Maybe she could help!”

“Henry, Emma was a bail bondsperson, not Sherlock Holmes. I don’t know how much help she would be. Besides, if she’s too busy to come have dinner, what makes you think she would be able to track down a woman we know nothing about?”

Henry frowned. “Jeez. I get it. It was just an idea.”

“I’m sorry, Henry. It was a great idea, I just don’t know how well it would work out. Besides, I think I might have a lead.” Regina said with a bit of hesitation.

“Really? No way! How?”

“I can’t tell you much, Henry. I need to be sure before I get your hopes up. I just want you to know that I’m still trying.” She couldn’t decide if she wanted to tell him who Emma really was. She figured she had probably better. He was bound to figure out the woman’s last name eventually, and she didn’t want to deal with what would happen if Henry found out she had been lying to him. She just needed a little more time to figure everything out. She was still finding it hard to believe that the woman he had been so desperate to search for had been in plain sight the whole time.

Henry smiled. “Thanks mom. I really appreciate it. Oh, guess what happened at school today? I told Miss Blanchard that you wanted her to give you a call and her eyes nearly popped out of her head! She freaked out, it was hilarious! You really make her nervous.” Henry said with a laugh.

Regina chuckled, glad to finally hear some good news. “I feel bad for that woman. I don’t know what I ever did to make her so afraid of me, but if anything I can at least find a little joy in watching her squirm.”

“Did you know she’s Emma’s roommate? Emma came to school today to have lunch with her.”

“Yes, she had mentioned that. It’s a small world, I suppose.”

“I told them they should come over for dinner sometime.”

Regina’s eyes widened. “You did what?”

“Well, we’ve been talking about having Emma over for a while and I still feel bad about stealing Miss Blanchard’s credit card. I thought maybe we could try to make it up to her. But I doubt she would come anyways. She probably thinks you’ll poison the food.”

Regina narrowed her eyes at her son. “Next time, please check with me before you invite people over.”

“Okay, sorry. I just thought it would be nice.” Henry grumbled as he cleared his plate. “Are you sure you and Emma are okay? She got all weird when I asked her to come over.”

“Henry, please stop asking about Emma. We are just friends and we are fine. Completely fine.”

“ _ Just friends _ doesn’t sound fine to me.”

“We met a month ago! Did you expect us to be married by now?”

He put his hands up in surrender. “You’re right. I guess it hasn’t been very long. Whatever, I’ll drop it. I’m gonna go work on my homework.”

Regina watched him go with tears in her eyes. Lying to the people she was closest to was so hard, and she didn’t know how much longer she could keep it up. All she needed was to figure out what to do about Emma Swan. Specifically, what to do about her feelings for Emma Swan that just wouldn’t seem to go away.

 


	11. Chapter 11

Emma hesitated outside the door to Regina’s office. There was a time when she would have just walked in, but she wasn’t sure if the mayor would be too thrilled with that now. She still didn’t have any idea what she had done to make Regina hate her, but she had clearly done something. She wasn’t going to stop trying to make up for it until Regina either told her to stop or told her what was going on. She really hoped it would be the latter.

She decided to knock, just to play it safe. 

“Come in!”

Emma nervously stepped into Regina’s office, unsure if she was even welcome there. She did come bearing food, though. Regina had finally gotten her car back, ending their daily drives together, and Emma really missed seeing the other woman every day. She figured they could go back to their lunches now that they didn’t have much time to see each other anywhere else.

“Hey, it’s me. I brought lunch. I figured since we don’t get to see each other much anymore we could go back to doing this. I’ve really missed hanging out with you.”

Regina sighed, glancing at Emma over the tops of her glasses. “I appreciate the thought, Miss Swan, but I’m afraid today is not the best. I’ve been swamped with work.”

She looked up at Emma nervously, afraid to see her reaction after being rejected yet again. But Emma wasn’t upset, as she had expected. She was just staring at her with her mouth wide open.

“Something wrong, Miss Swan?”

“Uh...what? No. No, I just...whoa. I’ve never seen you in glasses before. You um…” Emma cleared her throat before continuing. “You look great. Sorry. I got distracted. So, you’re too busy to even take a ten minute break?”

“I’m afraid so, dear. Duty calls.”

“Come on, ‘Gina, you have to eat.”

“I’ll be fine. Stop worrying.”

Emma set the bag of food on Regina’s desk before taking a seat. She narrowed her eyes at the older woman and finally gathered up the courage to say what she had been thinking for weeks. 

“Regina, I need you to be honest with me. Please, just tell me the truth. You’ve been acting weird ever since that day at the bar and no matter what I do I can’t seem to get close to you again. I just want to know what I did, because I’m starting to feel like an idiot pining after you like this. Do you even like me at all? Because I like you. A lot. I’m sorry if I did something to upset you, but I’ve tried so hard to prove to you that I want to be friends. More than friends, even. But I just need you to tell me if that’s not something you want. I really don’t want to lose you, Regina, but I don’t want to annoy you either. If you want me to get out of your hair, then I promise I will. I just need to hear it from you.”

Regina couldn’t keep from tearing up at Emma’s words. Hadn’t she been trying to get Emma to leave her alone for weeks? Wasn’t it what she really wanted? She knew it wasn’t, but it  _ was _ what she needed. She needed Emma to go away because she just couldn’t stand to see the hurt look on her face one more time. It hurt her too much to treat Emma this way.

But then it dawned on her. If Emma was so upset that Regina didn’t want to be with her, then did she really care about getting to Henry at all? Henry hadn’t even seen the blonde in weeks, and Emma only seemed to be trying to get close to Regina. Asking her on a date to her apartment instead of going to Regina’s for dinner, bringing her the flowers from their first date. When Regina really thought about it, she knew she was being irrational. The chances of Emma tracking Henry down and moving her whole life to a small town in Maine just to get back the boy she abandoned seemed very low. But her fears weren’t allowing her to think straight. She just needed to know the truth so that she could stop imagining the worst case scenario and hurting everyone in the process.

“Emma….Ten years ago, did you give up a son for adoption?” Regina asked, surprised at her bluntness. She just couldn’t wait for the answer any longer.

Emma’s eyes widened. “Uh, how did you...How did you know about that? That was...I was 18, nobody even knows about that. How did you-”

“I think Henry is your son. He found you, Emma. He was looking for his birth mother on some website and he was given your contact information.”

Emma’s jaw dropped and she was left speechless. Based on her reaction, Regina had a feeling that Emma had never known.

“That’s why we were in Tallahassee. We weren’t visiting a friend, we were looking for you. I didn’t realize you were the same person until I saw your last name on your name tag.” Regina admitted.

Emma stood slowly. “How...how is this possible?” 

Before Regina could answer, Emma turned and ran from the office. Regina quickly got up and grabbed her coat to follow Emma and try to talk to her. She knew by Emma’s reaction that she had made a huge mistake in assuming why she had come to Storybrooke. She had to at least try and fix this. She couldn’t lose Emma. She had been constantly worried that she would lose her son because of the blonde, but now she knew that she had been lying to herself. She knew that Emma would have never hurt her like that. What she was really afraid of was losing Emma.

 

* * *

  
  


Regina pulled up to the old wooden castle, Henry’s favorite park in town. She ran over to where Emma was sitting on the playground, which was no easy feat in heels.

“Emma!”

The blonde looked up at the sound of her name. “Regina? How did you find me?”

Regina took a seat next to her. “Henry comes here when he’s upset. It was just the first place I could think to look.”

“Regina, I...I am so sorry. I feel like such an idiot. I should’ve realized something was up. I should’ve left you alone like you wanted. I understand why you hate me. I would too, if I were you. I totally get it if you want me to leave. I’m used to moving, it won’t be-”

“Leave?” Regina interrupted. “Why would I want you to leave? Emma, I don’t hate you, even though that might be hard to believe after the way I’ve been treating you lately. I was just scared. When I found out who you were, I thought you were just using me to get to Henry and take him back.”

“Regina, I would never do that!”

“I know. I know, and I hate myself so much for believing that you would. I just...panicked. I found it so hard to believe that someone could actually like me that I assumed the worst. I’m the one who needs to apologize, Emma. You have been so sweet to me, even when I was awful in return. I tried so hard to find a reason to hate you but I just couldn’t. I tried to push my feelings aside so I wouldn’t get hurt, but I just hurt you in the process. I’m so sorry that I caused you to think that I don’t like you. I-I haven’t loved anyone this way in a very long time, and I think I’ve forgotten how.”

Emma’s eyes widened. “You love me?”

Regina blushed. “Yes. I’ve loved you since you held my hand on the plane. I’ve never felt safer with anyone and I’ve never been happier than I was when I was with you. I love you, Emma. I was afraid to admit it for a while but it’s true. I love you.”

Emma smiled wider than Regina had ever seen. “You really love me? Even though you know who I am?”

“Yes. Believe me, I do. I’m an idiot for ever thinking you would hurt me by taking away Henry. If anything, you helped bring me closer to him. You’re the kindest woman I’ve ever met, Emma Swan.”

“I love you too, ‘Gina.” Emma said with a grin. “So..are we gonna tell Henry? About me being his birth mother? ‘Cause I totally understand if you don’t want him to know.”

“I think we should tell him. I’m done lying to Henry. He deserves to know, and he’s never going to stop looking if I don’t just tell him. He’s bound to find out eventually, but I would like him to hear it from us. If you want to be there, of course. I understand if you don’t want to be in his life.”

“Are you kidding? I love that kid. He’s really incredible, ‘Gina. I...Thank you. For doing such a good job raising him. If he had grown up with me, it would have been a disaster. I can’t thank you enough for taking care of him. You gave him what I never could.”

“And what’s that?”

“His best chance. You gave him his best chance, Regina. You have no idea what it means to me to know that he’s in such good hands. I spent so many years wondering if I made the right decision, but I know now that I did. He couldn’t have done better than you.” Emma said with tears in her eyes.

Regina was crying by then, too. “Oh, Emma. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to raise such an amazing boy. Henry changed my life, and I am so thankful to have had the chance to be his mother.”

“Well, you know, he did bring us together, so he’s automatically pretty awesome.” Emma said with a laugh as she wiped Regina’s tears away. “Hey ‘Gina?”

“Yes dear?”

“Will you be my girlfriend?”

Regina laughed. “Yes, Emma. I would love to be your girlfriend.”

“Good. ‘Cause I love you.”

Regina leaned over to kiss the blonde. “I love you too, Miss Swan.”

Emma swatted her arm with a pout. “Hey! You know I hate it when you call me that.”

“Sorry, dear. It’s become a habit.” Regina said as she gave the blonde a quick kiss. “Oh, and Emma?”

“Yes dear?”

Regina narrowed her eyes at the blonde. “Not funny.”

“I thought it was.”

“You’re lucky I find you so cute.”

Emma smiled before leaning down to kiss Regina on the nose. “What were you gonna tell me?”

“That I like it when you call me ‘Gina. I was just lying when I said I didn’t.” Regina said with a blush.

Emma grinned. “I know.”

They hopped down from their seat on the playground and walked hand in hand back to Regina’s car.

“Hey ‘Gina?”

“Yes?”

“I love you.”

Regina smiled as she rested her head on Emma’s shoulder. “I love you too.”


	12. Chapter 12

Regina and Emma stood hand in hand in front of Regina’s house that afternoon. They knew they would have to go in and talk to Henry eventually, but they were attempting to calm each other down before they made this life changing decision.

“So, how are we gonna do this?” Emma asked nervously.

“I think we should just come out and say it. It’s not like he’ll be upset. He loves you, Em. It’s going to be fine.” 

“Are  _ you _ going to be fine?”

“I’m sorry?”

“Are you really okay with this? I mean, you shut me out for weeks because you thought I was gonna take him away. Are you sure you’re comfortable with telling him?”

Regina took a deep breath. “It’s the right thing to do. Besides, I trust you, Emma. I was stupid before but I know that you would never break apart our family. You can even be a part of it now. That’s what I want and I know it’s what Henry would want as well.”

Emma smiled. “It’s what I want, too. I love you.”

“I love you too.” Regina said as Emma squeezed her hand for reassurance. “Shall we?”

“Let’s do this.”

 

* * *

  
  


“It’s really you? This whole time, you’ve just been hiding in plain sight?” Henry asked, shocked at the news his moms had just told him.

“Yeah, kid. I guess so. I mean, maybe we should do some sort of DNA test or something but if that website was right, then I’m the Emma Swan you’ve been looking for.” Emma said nervously.

“Did you know? This whole time, did you know who she was?” Henry asked Regina.

“I didn’t at first. I didn’t even know her last name until she started work. When the pieces all came together, I was terrified. I thought I was going to lose you, Henry. I’m so sorry for not telling you before but I just wasn’t sure what to do. Emma didn’t even know until I told her this morning.”

“So that’s why you two stopped hanging out?”

“I’m afraid so. I didn’t handle the situation well at all, and I deeply regret it. I don’t want to lose either of you. I love you.”

Henry watched as Emma grabbed Regina’s hand in an attempt to comfort her. “So...are you two dating? Like for real this time?” 

Emma laughed. “Yeah, kid. We are. Is that okay with you?”

“Are you kidding? I’ve been waiting for this to happen!”

Regina smiled at Emma, pleased that things were going so well.

“So does this mean we can be a family now? Are you gonna move in? Should I call you mom? That might get confusing, we’ll think of something else. This is gonna be so awesome!” Henry shouted, overjoyed at the news. 

“Whoa, kid, slow down!”

“Sorry, I’m just excited!” 

“What do you say we go have dinner at Granny’s and we can talk about this? Things are going to be changing, but I want us to all be on the same page from now on.” Regina said.

“Sounds great, babe!” Emma replied.

Regina gave Emma a look of disgust. “I really would prefer it if you never called me that again.”

Emma laughed. “Oh, come on. You called me Miss Swan for weeks! This will be my revenge.”

Regina shook her head but smiled nonetheless. “You’re lucky I love you, Emma Swan.”

Emma smiled as she leaned in to kiss her girlfriend.

“Ew! Moms, what did I say about kissing when I’m around?”

Emma laughed as she reluctantly pulled away from Regina. “Sorry, kid. You might just have to get used to that.”

He scowled but leaned into Emma’s hug regardless. “I’m glad we found you.” He whispered.

“I’m glad you did, too.” Emma responded as she ruffled his hair.

Regina couldn’t help but smile as she watched her son get along with her girlfriend. There was a time when it would have terrified her, but she knew that the two of them would never leave her. They were a family now, and she couldn’t be happier.

 

* * *

  
  


“Mom! Ma is here!” Henry yelled as Emma walked into the house. It had been a week since she and Regina had started dating, and they were finally going to retry their lasagna date night. Emma had the number for the pizza place ready, though, in case her girlfriend distracted her again and she ruined something.

Regina smirked as she walked downstairs, anxiously awaiting the blonde’s reaction to her outfit choice. As she came into view, she was pleased to see Emma’s jaw drop.

“Regina-Oh my gosh. Are you trying to kill me? Am I already dead? Is this what heaven looks like? Henry, please pinch me. I seem to recall your mother telling me that she would only ever dress like this in my dreams. Please tell me this is real.” Emma’s mouth hung wide open. She was unable to look away from her beautiful girlfriend dressed in jeans, a tight fitting white shirt, and Emma’s very own red leather jacket. “How are you-How did you even get my jacket?”

“I simply got Mary Margaret to let me into your apartment. It really didn’t take much convincing. She’s terrified of me.” Regina said with a chuckle.

Emma still could not bring herself to look away. “You look even greater than I ever imagined. You see, this is why I call you babe! Get over here, woman!” Emma said as she grabbed Regina by the hand and kissed her.

“Hello! I’m still here!” Henry called out to no avail. He could tell that they wouldn’t be stopping on his account, so he turned to go into the living room.

“Seriously, ‘Gina, you look amazing.”

“Thank you, dear. I thought this might help make up for all the times I pushed you away. I know this isn’t enough, but I thought it might be a start.”

“Are you kidding? I barely even remember that now. This just changed my life. You are incredible.” Emma said as she kissed Regina again.

Regina laughed. “I never thought you would enjoy it this much. If you’d like, I can grab my glasses from the study-”

“No! No way. I don’t think I could get through an entire dinner with you and the kid if you were wearing those too.”

Regina chuckled as she pulled Emma into the kitchen. “Do you think you’ll be able to handle cooking?”

“Forget that. I’ll order us a pizza.” Emma said as she picked up the phone. 

“Someday I will get you to cook something. I’m determined.”

“Well then you better never wear that again ‘cause I don’t think I can focus on anything when you’re dressed like that.”

“Would you rather I wear nothing at all?” Regina teased.

Emma’s eyes widened. “You’re killing me, woman! Let’s go start a movie so I can try to think about something else.”

They joined Henry in the living room and started a movie. As they were waiting for the previews to end, Henry asked, “So, Ma, when are you moving in? I mean, you spend most of your time here anyways.”

“Oh, Henry, I...I don’t know, that’s-”

“Well, he is right.” Regina interrupted. “You hardly ever spend time at your apartment anymore. If you’d like to move in here we would love to have you.”

“Really? You don’t think it’s too soon?”

“Not at all. We do share a son, you know. This is the logical next step. Well, maybe it would have been the logical step to take before a child but this is quite the special circumstance.” Regina said with a chuckle.

“I guess we have seemed to take everything pretty fast, huh? Except for you figuring out my last name. What’s the deal with that, anyways? Did you seriously not think to ask me what my name was for like two weeks?”

Regina glared at her. “In hindsight, I realize I could’ve prevented all of the confusion. It’s just, you told me August was your brother and I suppose I assumed you’d share a last name. Looking back, I can’t even believe how ridiculous that was.” 

Emma laughed. “Yeah, I guess I could see how you would think that. But it’s all behind us now, right? If the offer still stands, I’d love to move in with you.”

“Really? Yes!” Henry said as he high fived Emma. “This is gonna be so great! You guys are the coolest moms ever.”

Regina smiled at Emma as she leaned over to lay her head on the blonde’s shoulder. “I love you so much, Em.”

Emma wrapped the woman in a tight embrace. “I love you too, babe. Can we please buy you a leather jacket of your own?”

“Don’t push your luck, Swan.”

“Aw, come on!”

“If you think I would ever be seen wearing this in public, then maybe you  _ are _ dreaming.”

“If this is a dream, then I don’t ever want to wake up.” Emma whispered as she snuggled into Regina.


	13. Chapter 13

**_One Year Later_ **

 

Regina groaned as she woke up to find the spot next to her, usually occupied by her favorite blonde, to be empty.

“Emmaaaaa!” She called out, hoping to have the blonde come back to bed so they could cuddle.

“Whaaaaat?” Emma yelled back teasingly as she walked out of the bathroom.

Regina frowned. “Where did you go?”

“I wanted to finish packing! Gotta get ready before we leave this afternoon.”

Regina groaned again. She had forgotten that they were leaving for their trip to New York that day. Emma had been trying to convince Regina to let them take a family vacation for ages, and she had finally given in. She didn’t want to admit it to Emma, but the reason she had been so against it was because she was truly terrified to have to fly again.

“Do we have to go?” She whined.

“Aw, come on. It’s gonna be fun! I can’t wait to show you all my favorite places in the city. The kid’s gonna love it and I know you will too.”

“Emma, I really don’t want to go.”

Emma frowned. “Why are you so against this? It took me forever to get you to say yes and now you’re changing your mind again? What’s going on?”

“Nothing. I simply don’t want to miss work for that long.”

“Oh, please. You haven’t missed a day of work in months. Besides, we already took the time off. Now, are you going to tell me the real reason you don’t want to go or am I going to have to force it out of you?”

Regina’s eyes widened. “Don’t you dare.”

Emma didn’t listen and pinned Regina down to the bed. With no warning, she began to tickle Regina until she was squirming beneath her with tears running down her cheeks.

“Okay, okay! I’ll tell you!” Regina said with a laugh. She hated when the blonde used her tickle spot against her.

Emma collapsed onto her side of the bed, resting her head in her hand and looking over Regina. “So, what’s up?”

Regina sighed. “I’m...Well, it’s stupid, really, but I’m afraid to fly again. I haven’t been on a plane since Tallahassee and I hated it. I don’t know if I can do it again.”

Emma leaned over to give Regina a kiss. “Oh, ‘Gina. Why didn’t you tell me before?”

“I was nervous. I know this is something you’ve really wanted to do and I want you to be happy. I thought I could do it, but…”

“But you’re scared. It’s okay, I get it. But I promise you, nothing bad is going to happen. I’ll be there with you the whole time.”

“Will you hold my hand?”

“I will hold your hand as long as you need, babe. I’m not gonna let you go, I promise. If you really want, we can even take the car and just turn it into a road trip.”

“My car, right?”

“Well, of course.”

Regina smiled before kissing the blonde. She always knew exactly how to make her feel better. 

“I love you, Emma. I think-I think we should do it. Let’s fly. As long as I’m with you, I’ll feel safe. I’m just freaking myself out.”

Emma grinned. “Really?”

“Really.”

“Thanks, ‘Gina. It’s gonna be great, I promise! Now, can you come help me pack? Knowing me, I’ll probably forget to bring something important.”

Regina held her hands out, beckoning Emma to come cuddle. “Five more minutes?” Regina said with a pout.

Emma laughed as she turned to hold Regina. “Since when am I the morning person?”

“You are the furthest thing from a morning person.” Regina said with a chuckle.

“I guess the kid gets that from me, huh?”

“He certainly does.”

“He must get those puppy dog eyes from me, too. Yours need some work.”

Regina frowned. “When have you ever been able to resist my puppy dog eyes?”

“Uh, almost always. I only give in ‘cause I love you so much. It has nothing to do with your adorable face.”

“Keep telling yourself that, Swan.”

“I hate it when you play the last name card!”

“I know. That’s why I do it.” Regina said with a smirk.

“Well, two can play at that game, Mills.”

“You are infuriating.”

“Too bad, ‘cause you’re stuck with me.” Emma said with a grin.

“What a shame! Whatever shall I do to cope with this news?”

“Maybe a kiss would help?”

“You’re probably right.”

Emma laughed as she gave Regina a kiss and tickled her once more. 

 

* * *

  
  


Due to Regina’s nerves, they arrived at the airport much earlier than necessary. Once they had made it through security, they had two hours to wait at their gate. They tried to pass the time by playing games, but eventually Henry got bored and fell asleep on Emma’s shoulder.

“Should we wake him up?” Emma asked.

“No, just let him sleep. He stayed up way too late playing video games last night.”

“I’m sorry, we just couldn’t stop until I beat him at least once!”

“You’re going to have to work on your skills so this doesn’t become a regular occurrence.” Regina reprimanded.

“Are you saying I don’t have skills?”

“I never said that.”

“But you implied it.”

“Why do you care so much?”

“Because I care what you think.”

“Well, dear, I think you are excellent at video games. Feel better now?”

“A little.” Emma grumbled as Regina leaned her head on her other shoulder. “Hey, ‘Gina?”

“Yes?” Regina said as she started to close her eyes, the early morning wakeup starting to catch up to her.

“I just wanted to say thanks, for coming on this trip. I know you aren’t exactly excited about it, but I really appreciate that you wanted to do this for me. I love you.”

“I love you too, dear.” Regina said with a yawn.

“It’s just so cool that I get to go on this trip with my family, you know? I’ve never...I’ve never really had that. Thank you for giving me a family, Regina. I never thought I’d be this happy. I think this was what I was looking for in Tallahassee. I thought if I went there like I had always planned that I would find my happy ending. And I did, in the end, because of you. You and Henry  _ are _ Tallahassee. Thank you for helping me find it.”

When she didn’t get a response, Emma turned to look at Regina, now fast asleep on her shoulder. She smiled as she looked down at her girlfriend, kissing the top of the brunette’s head. She turned and did the same to Henry before settling into her chair with a smile, content to just sit with her family.


End file.
